Targeted radionuclide treatment for neuroendocrine tumors improves quality of life

June 12, 2017

Malignant neuroendocrine tumors, commonly called NETs, are easy to miss and associated with discouraging survival rates and poor quality of life. A study presented at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) shows how a novel peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) is significantly improving patient wellbeing.

In the NETTER-1 Phase III Trial, a randomized prospective study, researchers focused on advanced midgut NETs and reviewed patient-reported quality of life questionnaires following treatment with lutetium-177 (177Lu)-octreotate PRRT, also known as 177Lu-DOTATATE—brand name Lutathera. Treatment with Lutathera provided some relief for neuroendocrine cancer patients in the study when compared to high-dose octreotide, used as a control.